‘Better Call Saul’: Bob Odenkirk Might Have Just Explained Why Kim Wexler Isn’t In ‘Breaking Bad’
Better Call Saul is a joy to watch, but there’s always been a little bit of unease knowing that Kim Wexler isn’t in Breaking Bad. Kim has become such a regular and vital part of Jimmy McGill’s life that it’s hard to make sense of her absence. Some viewers believe something bad will happen to her before the show is up, hence her disappearance. But based on comments from Bob Odenkirk, we aren’t so sure that’s the case.
Bob Odenkirk talks ‘Better Call Saul’ and how it came to be
In a March interview with GQ, Odenkirk opened up about the origins of Better Call Saul. As showrunner and co-creator Peter Gould previously told Collider, they wanted to capitalize on the success of Breaking Bad and decided to build a spinoff around shabby lawyer Saul Goodman, who had become a fan-favorite. Odenkirk says it was easy to come up with Saul’s story because Breaking Bad never got into his personal life.
“We didn’t have to torture ourselves to invent Jimmy because Saul Goodman in Breaking Bad was only ever seen at work,” he told GQ around the 3:45 mark. “So because of that, there’s nothing established about his personal life and there was nothing that had to be understood or explained.”
Could that explain why Kim isn’t in Breaking Bad?
Odenkirk’s comment raises questions about what truly happens to Kim in Better Call Saul. Perhaps she’s only missing from Breaking Bad because the show only focused on Saul’s professional life — not because something drastic happened to her. Maybe she’s still taking on pro bono work and living a simple life with Jimmy when the original series begins.
But at the same time, there are plenty of signs hinting at a different outcome. Viewers know that Kim has been making choices that have everyone side-eyeing her, especially in season 5 when she floats an attack against Howard Hamlin that even Saul rejects. Her increasingly shady ways have prompted all kinds of theories, including that Kim will become a silent partner in Saul’s company Ice Station Zebra Associates or that she’ll even wind up dead.
Gould previously addressed the speculation about the fate of Kim and Jimmy, The Observer reported. “We have a lot of ideas about where Jimmy and Kim are going,” he said. “There’s some ideas which I am so excited about, but there is also a lot of sadness to where this is going.”
Either way, we know that something will eventually happen that separates them — whether it’s death or something less dramatic — as Kim is absolutely out of the picture by the time Saul flees New Mexico for Omaha.
Flash forward scenes reveal he lives a solitary life as the manager of a local Cinnabon. However, fans will have to wait until Better Call Saul Season 6 to see what exactly happens from there. The release date is not yet known, but the show is expected to return at some point in 2022.
